8 hours ago Feb. 19, 2014 - 6:59 AM PST

Expect Labs, makers of the MindMeld app for dynamically suggesting content in response to the topics in a spoken conversation, is opening its artificial intelligence engine to the world via the new MindMeld API. Its the latest example of just how powerful APIs are becoming and offers yet another glimpse into how intelligent we will expect applications to be in the years to come.

The key to the MindMeld API is its ability (well, the ability of the system behind it) to account for context. The API will index and make a knowledge graph from a website, database or content collection, but then it also collects contextual clues from an applications users about where they are, what theyre doing or what theyre typing, for example. Its that context that lets the API decide which search results to display or content to recommend, and when.

And although speech recognition was a big component of the MindMeld app, the API doesnt require users to utilize a voice input. It could just as easily handle text search, location or other contextual inputs as the trigger for recommendations. Only about half the apps presently using the API rely on speech recognition, Tuttle said.

The API which ranges from free to $1,999 per month could potentially help someone build something similar to the Google Now assistant, but also a lot more. Maybe a news site wants to make better use of its video library by recommending videos to readers, or a call center wants to improve customer service by pointing operators to the right information to answer a customers question in real time. As it turns out, developing this machine intelligence capability is core to a lot of businesses, not just Googles,Expect Labs co-founder and CEO Tim Tuttle said.

The MindMeld app listens to conversations and recommends relevant content.

In fact, although the companys flagship MindMeld app was a great way to show off what Expect Labs technology could do and to hone its capabilities, the API is the core to Expect Labs business going forward. Were trying to make it possible for this tech to get into every app, every device and every website, Tuttle said.

Later, he added, Fiveyears from now, AI is going be the way that you get access to all the information that you wantit ends up being the gateway to the customer for just about everything you want.

Expect Labs wants to be one of the biggest and best companies providing that gateway. Companies like Intel have invested in Expect Labs, Tuttle said, because they realize the shift thats happening and they need to make sure their chips are designed to enable rather than hinder new capabilities.

Tim Tuttle

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More AI for developers as Expect Labs releases the MindMeld API